The Nasdaq Composite rose barely on Friday, hitting its fifth consecutive record close, as recent data from last week showed further cooling in inflation and a decline in Treasury yields. For the week: The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 3.2%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%. Economic updates added to the gains. First, the buyer price index (CPI) for May got here in weaker than expected on Wednesday, unchanged from April's reading. Economists had expected a 0.1% increase. A day later, the producer price index (PPI) for the month fell 0.2%, versus expectations for a 0.1% increase. (The CPI measures prices for a basket of products and services across the U.S. economy, while the PPI is a measure of the costs producers get for his or her goods and services available in the market.) Both releases were welcomed by investors. They showed that the Federal Reserve's two-year plan to lift rates of interest and keep them high to cut back inflation remains to be working. There is hope that if prices fall, the central bank will cut rates again. Fed Chair Jerome Powell shared this progress with reporters after the FOMC left rates unchanged on Wednesday, but he said more data was needed before a cut. He suggested, nevertheless, that a cut before year-end would probably be so as. The market seems to disagree. On Friday, the CME FedWatch tool estimated two cuts this yr to be the most certainly this yr – the primary in September and one other in December. Among the S&P 500 sectors, information technology was the week's big winner, up nearly 6% on big moves by club names Apple and Broadcom, in addition to Oracle and Adobe. Also helping was portfolio heavyweight Nvidia's 8.5% rally following its 10-for-1 stock split on Monday. On the opposite hand, the energy sector was the most important loser, followed by financials and industrials. Within the club, we heard from Broadcom this week, which reported strong quarterly results and announced its own 10-for-1 stock split. No portfolio firms are reporting earnings in the approaching week. In the primary quarter, the technology sector was the massive winner, as 89% of firms within the sector reported earnings that beat expectations. That's followed by healthcare at 88% and consumer discretionary at 84%, in accordance with FactSet. On the sales side, real estate led the way in which, with 74% of firms reporting positive sales surprises, followed by technology at 71% and healthcare at 69%. Here's what we now have on our radar for the week ahead — keeping in mind that U.S. markets are closed on Wednesday for Juneteenth. Retail sales. May results come out Tuesday and will shed some light on the resilient consumer. What are people spending money on? What are they saving from? Investors predict a 0.3% overall monthly gain, in accordance with FactSet. Industrial production and capability utilization. This will show how well manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities are doing. Economists expect industrial production to rise 0.3% month-over-month, with capability utilization at 78.6%, up barely from the previous month, in accordance with FactSet. Housing. At the tip of the week, May housing starts and existing home sales dominate. Housing costs have been a serious source of upward pressure on inflation, so Wall Street will welcome any sign of easing earnings. While no portfolio firms report results, there are two to regulate: Lennar on Monday and Darden Restaurants on Thursday. Lennar is certainly one of the biggest homebuilders within the U.S., so we are able to use that release to not directly provide further clues about where inflation is headed. Ideally, we would like to see more supply on the way in which, as that shall be key to moderating price inflation — and that is essential to the Fed's rate cuts later this yr. Darden Restaurants, the operator of Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Yard House and others, will give us one other take a look at consumer spending. Monday, June 17 After the close: Lennar (LEN), La-Z-Boy (LZB) Tuesday, June 18 8:30 a.m. ET: Retail Sales 9:15 a.m. ET: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization Before the close: Americas CarMart (CRMT) After the close: KB Home (KBH) Wednesday, June 19 U.S. stock markets are closed for Juneteenth. Thursday, June 20 8:30 a.m. ET: Initial Jobless Claims 8:30 a.m. ET: Housing Starts Before the market opens: Accenture (ACN), Kroger (KR), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Jabil (JBL) After the market opens: Smith & Wesson (SWBI) Friday, June 21 10:00 a.m. ET: Existing Home Sales Before the market opens: CarMax (KMX), FactSet (FDS) (A full list of stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust could be found here.) As a subscriber to CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you’ll receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. After a trade alert is distributed, Jim will wait 45 minutes before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has discussed a stock on television on CNBC, he’ll wait 72 hours after the trade alert is issued before executing the trade. THE INFORMATION REGARDING INVESTING CLUB DESCRIBED ABOVE IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR DISCLAIMER. 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The Nasdaq-Composite rose barely on Friday to its fifth consecutive record close, as recent data last week showed an extra cooling in inflation and a decline in government bond yields.
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